Why are there no Canadian NFL teams?
Noah Mitchell
Published Jan 19, 2026
It has been suggested that one of the reasons the NFL would not want to put a franchise in Canada and risk putting the CFL out of business is that the CFL offers antitrust protection as a competing league.
Can Canadians make the NFL?
Jevon Holland, Benjamin St-Juste, Josh Palmer and Chuba Hubbard were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft and each enjoyed successful rookie campaigns. It was also just the second time four Canadians were selected in the NFL Draft after Brent Urban, John Urschel, T.J. Jones and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif were selected in 2014.
Is NFL more popular than CFL in Canada?
Of these fans, 14% follow both leagues, while 12% follow only the CFL and 7% have eyes for only the NFL. Combined with Bibby's earlier Project Canada national surveys, the latest poll shows that, since 2005 and the end of hockey lockout, interest in the NHL has jumped from 30% to 46%.
What NFL teams do Canadians root for?
Note that based on merchandise sales, Seattle and Minnesota are the most popular NFL teams in Canada. However, Buffalo also gets lots of love, and inexplicably, Detroit is also in the running. I know, that's hard to believe.
Is there a Canadian American football team?
As a member of the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), Canada competes in IFAF World Championships in addition to the International Bowl series against Team USA.
35 related questions foundIs CFL older than NFL?
David Holmes, 51, a lifelong fan of Vancouver's CFL team, the BC Lions, happily points out that the first recorded game of Canadian football took place in 1861, eight years before the first documented American football match.
Did the CFL ever play the NFL?
Canadian Football League interleague games
Six games held in Canada between 1950 and 1961 pitted NFL teams against Canadian Football League (CFL) (or precursor) teams with the NFL team winning all six. These games were a hybrid of American and Canadian football.
Can Toronto support an NFL team?
Toronto's being floated as a key site for the NFL's international expansion. Move over, Argos. The NFL might be giving Toronto's football team a run for their money. The NFL is exploring the possibility of an expansion into new markets, and apparently, they've narrowed their options down to four cities.
What NFL team does Canada like?
NFL.com reports that merchandise sales and fan engagement surveys show that the New England Patriots are the most popular team in Canada and QB Tom Brady is the favourite player. Following the Patriots in the top-five list of teams in Canada are the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills.
Is there a NFL team in Toronto?
Answering that question means revisiting the reasons there is no Toronto NFL franchise, despite the city's obvious appeal as one of the biggest and wealthiest markets in North America. There have always been several roadblocks to stop this from happening.
How many Canadians are in the NFL?
As the 2020 NFL season, Canada was the most represented foreign country in the NFL with 12 players, followed by Nigeria with eight and Australia with six.
Are CFL balls bigger than NFL?
Players have taken the slogan to mean that the CFL 's football is bigger than the NFL's. Although that was true for decades, the dimensions of both footballs are now essentially the same. "There's no difference in the balls now," Winnipeg quarterback Kent Austin said recently.
Is CFL big in Canada?
The Canadian Football League (CFL; French: Ligue canadienne de football, LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a city in Canada.
How much do CFL players make?
Every CFL team needs a franchise quarterback to be able to compete for the Grey Cup and that's why organizations are willing to pay top dollar for proven talent. 2022 will be a rare year in which the three-down league's highest-paid player will start at QB along with a player near the minimum $65,000 salary.
Do they have football in Canada?
Canadian football is played at several levels in Canada; the top league is the professional nine-team Canadian Football League (CFL). The CFL regular season begins in June, and playoffs for the Grey Cup are completed by late November.
How many Canadian teams are in the NHL?
The National Hockey League (NHL; French: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, French pronunciation: [liɡ nasjɔnal də ɔkɛ]) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada.
Did Canada invent football?
While Canadian James Naismith invented basketball, American style “football” also came from Canada, after Americans played a game developed in Canada.
What NFL team is closest to Toronto?
The closest NFL teams to Toronto are Buffalo which is 100 miles away, Detroit which is 231 miles away, Cleveland which is 293 miles away and Pittsburgh which is 318 miles away.
What NFL team do people in Toronto root for?
It has been previously suggested that the Buffalo Bills are Canada's team, mainly because of their proximity both to the Canadian border just 15 miles away, and the city of Toronto which is just 2 hours away. In fact, the Bills even play some of their home games in Toronto.
Why does San Antonio not have an NFL team?
In the mid 2000s, the city showcased itself to the NFL when the New Orleans Saints were forced to relocate after Hurricane Katrina. Despite near sellout crowds, an NFL team never relocated to San Antonio and the city has been used as a pawn or leverage ever since to get stadiums built in other cities.
Will the NFL expand to 36 teams?
The only logical move for the NFL is to move to 36 teams for the symmetry of having six divisions of six teams each. That means the league would need to add four teams. Any sane person will tell you that any NFL expansion starts in Los Angeles, so there is one of the four teams.
Is St Louis getting a new NFL team?
The city will get some money but no replacement team.
Why does CFL have 3 downs?
The rules in the CFL actually creates a scenario where three downs can help balance a game more evenly between offense and defense. The CFL requires that the defensive team is one yard away from the line of scrimmage; in the NFL, the defense can get right on the line.
Can NFL and CFL merge?
So while a NFL and CFL merger is very unlikely, imagine the possibilities if the leagues came together for a short period of time. The stakes would be high and the games intense. Canadian teams would show they can compete, and American teams would play to show off their dominance.
How deep is the CFL end zone?
The CFL's playing field is 110 yards long, 65 yards wide and the 20-yard deep end zones are cavernous.